Fiji has been placed at the forefront of a new global co-financing experiment after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank launched two Pacific projects under their “Full Mutual Reliance” framework on 4 December 2025.
The model allows one multilateral institution to act as lead lender on project preparation, safeguards and supervision, with the other relying on those systems rather than duplicating processes. For small administrations like Fiji’s, that shift is designed to reduce transaction costs and free scarce capacity to focus on implementation rather than parallel reporting lines and multiple missions.
The first cab off the rank is the US$236.5 million Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation (PHIT) project, led by the World Bank. It is the Bank’s largest single operation in the Pacific and aims to modernise primary healthcare networks and fund a new regional referral hospital to tackle non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular illness, now among the leading causes of death across Pacific island countries. Fiji’s Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel said the initiative was expected to improve quality of care, enable earlier detection and reduce NCD prevalence over time.
Running in parallel is the Tonga Sustainable Economic Corridors and Urban Resilience (SECURE) project, led by ADB, with combined grant financing of around US$120 million. While centred on Tonga, it is part of the same framework that the banks say could be extended to some 20 further projects in infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, health and social protection, including additional Pacific operations.
For Fiji’s private sector, the new model signals both immediate and longer-term opportunity. In the short term, the PHIT project will generate tenders for design, construction, ICT systems, medical equipment and facility management. Over time, a more integrated regional health platform could spur demand for specialised services, training and digital health solutions, positioning Suva as a more significant medical hub for the central Pacific.
